Reclaiming my identity through dance

When Amelia Laytham was 12, her family moved from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Pennsylvania. To deal with the culture shock, she did everything she could to fit in and be “normal.” But this meant giving up her love of traditional Indonesian dance.

Choosing between being Indonesian or being American wasn’t enough. What if I embrace both?

In her TED@UPS talk, Amelia explains how having a family of her own made her want to re-embrace her Indonesian heritage and share the culture with her children.

She also rediscovered her love of dance, as she and her children joined a traditional Indonesian dance troupe together. At the end of her talk, watch Amelia and some friends perform a beautiful Balinese dance on the TED@UPS stage.